Donald Trump’s Cabinet selections, including Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are drawing criticism over qualifications and past controversies. While Trump remains firm in his choices, Senate Republicans face pressure to confirm the picks or risk political backlash.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary on this matter. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact the GW Media Relations team at [email protected].
Congressional Experts
Casey Burgat is the director of the Legislative Affairs program at the Graduate School of Political Management and host of its Mastering the Room podcast. Prior to joining GSPM, Burgat was a Senior Governance Fellow at the R Street Institute where his research focused on issues of congressional capacity and reform. Burgat co-authored Congress Explained: Representation and Lawmaking in the First Branch, a textbook on all things Congress.
Reverend Professor Quardricos Bernard Driskell an adjunct professor of religion and politics at the GW Graduate School of Political Management, as well as a policy influencer and federal lobbyist. With nearly ten years of government relations experience, he has worked for two patient voluntary health associations where he advanced the patient voice into policy and research deliberations through services to Congress, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Steven Balla, associate professor and co-director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center, studies government transparency and public participation in policymaking in China and the United States. Balla is currently working on projects on congressional oversight of regulatory policymaking, polarization in public commenting on proposed rules, transparency and participation in state rulemaking, commenting on midnight regulations, policymaking innovation in China, transparency and participation in policymaking in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the responsiveness of Chinese government officials to public feedback on draft laws and regulations.
Political Implications
Peter Loge is the director of GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs. He has nearly 30 years of experience in politics and communications, having served as a deputy to the chief of staff for Sen. Edward Kennedy during the 1995 shutdown, a VP at the US Institute of Peace in 2013, and held senior positions for three members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Loge currently leads the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at the School of Media and Public Affairs and continues to advise advocates and organizations.
Todd Belt is the director of the Political Management Program at the GW Graduate School of Political Management. Belt is an expert on the presidency, campaigns and elections, mass media and politics, public opinion, and political humor. In addition to his expertise, Belt is co-author of four books and helps to run GW’s political poll, which recently shared new findings.
Lesley Lopez is the director of Public Relations and Communications program as well as an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Political Management. Lopez is an expert in media relations, digital storytelling, content creation, inclusive strategic communications and coalition building, and writing. She has served as a journalist, founder of a boutique PR firm, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer for the political start-up Run for Something, head of global communications for the U.S.-China Business Council and the Director of Communications for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. She also is currently a state delegate in the Maryland General Assembly, representing District 39, and serves as Deputy Majority Whip.
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